A Question of Priorities

I read the Editorial Column of the Activate newspaper dated Wednesday 14 October 2009. I find it extremly intresting that the broader society, even those suppossedly on a paper noted for its activism stance, only every seem to feel sympathy for human beings and sometimes even that can be a stretch. It is just yet another indication to me of what a self-absorbed society we have become,, mostly caring for only ourselves and when forced to do so caring for our own species at large. We do not care that we constantly torture and abuse other sentient creatures, because we “alone” are actually sentient. Everything else merely has a pulse and nothing more. The majority of people do not seem to realise that you cannot simply separate human rights from animal rights. The two are infact extremly closely interwoven. By trying to separate them we do a disservice not only to non-human creatures, but to ourselves as well. We have evolved far beyond the majority of needs supplied by many animals, and the constant torture and abuse we put them through is not only cruel, it has become outdated and intollerable. It's time for our self-absorbtion to end, and to start looking beyond ourselves to the greatness and wonder that surrounds us in so many shapes and forms and to start appreciating them more.